A. J. Puk: A dazzling, yet maddening, power pitcher,
HOOVER, ALA. The 2016 Major League Baseball draft class doesn’t have that no-doubt, surefire No. 1 pick — no Bryce Harper or Stephen Strasburg. But A.J. Puk, a 6-7 Iowan and left-hander who pitches for Florida, has been as close as there has been to a consensus top player over the last year.
Scouts and executives from every big-league team saw why in the Southeastern Conference tournament in late May. He is big, throws in the mid- to upper 90s and has three above-average pitches. At best, he’s a frontline starter. At worst, he’s a late-inning bullpen piece.
There’s plenty to dream about. Entering the eighth inning of an SEC tournament game vs. LSU with 103 pitches, he was throwing 95 mph, according to the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium radar gun.
“He was at 103, and I didn’t think he was losing any gas,” Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said.
The raw talent and stuff is there — it’s just that when you look at the physical abilities, the numbers on the stat sheets just don’t add up. Puk entered the NCAA super regionals with a 2-3 record and a 3.21 ERA for one of the nation’s top teams. Teammate Logan Shore, a junior, was named the SEC’s pitcher of the year, entering the week 11-0 with a 2.44 ERA.
“His team has won 40-plus games, and he’s only won two of them,” Tennessee coach Dave Serrano said. “If I’m an organization, there’s some concern. I think it’s a matter of maybe some maturity and him growing up. It’s all there. The package is all there. You can’t prototype a left-handed pitcher more than you can him.”
Serrano added that college production doesn’t always translate into major league production. Pittsburgh Pirates’ No. 1 starter Gerrit Cole was the second-best pitcher at UCLA behind Trevor Bauer but has been a better pro.
Tall pitchers such as Puk also tend to take longer to get a repeatable delivery. The talk over his lefty’s win-loss record grates on O’Sullivan, who snapped at a reporter who asked about Puk’s inconsistent results this season.
“Go back and look what his video looked like out of high school and see the progression he’s made. Everybody’s trying to pick him apart,” O’Sullivan says. “I see the improvement he’s made over the last three years. Every- one says, ‘Why is he up-anddown?’ Well, he’s a 6-7 lefty who doesn’t have a lot of innings under his belt. He’s gotten a lot better.
“I’m going to say again, if he makes the same progress he has over the next three years that he has the three years here, you’ve got a No. 1 starter. I’m pleased with where he’s at. He obviously wants more wins, but from a delivery standpoint and command standpoint, he’s fine.”
Before this season, he was consistently good in the postseason. Last year he was 2-1 with a 1.54 ERA in the postseason, including a three-hit shutout in the SEC tournament. However, he allowed four earned runs in 41⁄3 innings in Florida’s regional win this season over Connecticut.
“It’s more fun when there’s a lot of fans,” Puk said.
During the SEC tournament, the area immediately behind the catcher also was littered with radar guns, recording every pitch and determining his future.
“It’s just a matter of it coming out,” Serrano says. “Could he be a No. 1 guy? Absolutely. And you can’t let those guys pass by when you get a chance at them.”